The amount of information transmitted electronically has increased in recent years. Most of the information transmitted electronically has been generated by means of a computer. There is, however, a great need for electronically transmitting information that has been generated in some other way than by means of computers. For instance, there is a need for transmitting handwritten information in connection with the filling-in of a form. A further example when there is a need for transmitting handwritten information involves advertisements in newspapers. Advertisements in newspapers sometimes have a writing area for handwritten information and a fax number to which the advertisement can be sent.
For a long time the only possibility of sending handwritten information was to use a fax machine. An alternative is to use a scanner for converting the information to a digital image, which can then be transmitted via a computer communication link or via the telephone network. U.S. Pat. No. 5,852,434 discloses a method for entering handwritten information by means of a pen and a base with a coordinate pattern. When writing on the base, the pen records the movement and stores it as positions.
Independently of how the information is entered, a manual step is necessary when transmitting the information.
There is thus a need for an alternative method and a device for more easily transmitting handwritten information such as handwritten text.